Tormacc just stared at Stella, unable to comprehend what she just said.

“What do you mean I fucked up?! I followed the instructions exactly!”

“And that’s where the problem is,” Stella said, leaning forward with her hands clasped on the desk. “I don’t mean you fucked up, I mean the older you, the one who left the message.”

Here she paused, gathering her thoughts.

“To explain it, I need to tell you a little background information. What do you know of The Tower?”

“That I have something I need to be doing here, likely involving my people back home, and that something involves getting stronger and climbing The Tower.”

Stella nodded. “That’s about what everyone knows coming in. The problem is because your memories were sealed you don’t know how much your previous self knew, which means almost everyone unconditionally trusts the message they receive in their Starter Kit. As messages go, the one you left yourself isn’t bad. I’d even say it’s above average. The problem is most people outside The Tower don’t really know what goes on inside, meaning the information they leave themselves is often incomplete or wrong. Your main issue is leaving the starting zone too soon. You said you had over 1,700 Essence, correct?”

Tormacc nodded.

“That’s quite decent. Likely you should have tried to save more, but being able to utilize Ability Boost and Beginner’s Gift at all is a nice bonus, as most can’t afford to save much for them. But after that, instead of coming here, you should have stayed in the starter zone.”

“Why is that?”

“Because the starting zone has one of the highest concentrations of treasure in The Tower. It’s a problem most people face that they leave too soon without harvesting even a fraction of the resources available.”

“I thought about that, but how would I recognize it if I came across something valuable?” Stella wasn’t saying anything new. He had gone over all this before, and was getting a little annoyed at her tone.

“You probably wouldn’t. But finding treasure isn’t the only way to get additional resources. You must have seen at least one monster implode into a crystal. Maybe you even saw a special one, a creature that was more powerful than others of its kind and dropped a blue or purple crystal?”

“I got a few white crystals, one white sphere, and a special creature dropped a blue crystal.”

“Those are the additional resources that anyone can recognize,” Stella said sagely. “There’s a more comprehensive explanation in the guidebook I gave you, but crystals and spheres are rare, and there is a higher drop rate than normal in the starting zone. Doing a decent job of clearing out your starting zone can usually net you at least five or six blue crystals, not to mention the chance at getting a purple one.”

As Tormacc digested what Stella said, he knew she was right. He did fuck up, or at least was punished for his lack of information. Ironic, really, that in leaving the starting zone to try and find more information he was punished for his lack thereof. He knew the crystal the mole dropped was powerful, as his tattoo had been amazing, but the thought of there being more guaranteed drops of that kind didn’t even cross his mind.

“There, there,” Stella said. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. You did better than most people. We don’t have statistics, but even surviving the starting zone isn’t a guarantee. Well, not for those close to Humen at least. There’re some more powerful races that have it a bit easier. You at least did the right thing in coming here. I can guarantee that everyone who has signed on with Curtain hasn’t regretted it.”

“Sorry for my ignorance, but what IS Curtain, exactly?” He had gone with the flow so far, but despite all the information Stella had already given him he still felt woefully ignorant.

“Apologies, I forgot you didn’t know. Curtain is the premier intelligence agency in the First City. We provide all kinds of tips and tricks for our clients, as well as facilitating connections if they are looking for particular services or goods.”

“Is there any reason people wouldn’t sign up then?” There had to be other options, and, judging from the Curtain HQ, the organization was large, but from what he saw of the city there were a lot of people here. They couldn’t be the only game in town.

“We don’t come cheap. Premium service, premium charge. But if you want the best of the best, Curtain is where you want to be. Why don’t you take a look at the guidebook I gave you? That should give a good example of what we can offer.”

Tormacc spent a good chunk of time browsing the information in the guidebook, occasionally asking Stella a question or two which she patiently answered. There was a lot of information to take in, and he knew he would have to come back to the guidebook later to read it in more detail, but what he did glean from it was shocking, and out of that, the biggest shock was The Tower itself.

The guidebook had a whole section that talked about the origin of The Tower and why people where fighting inside of it. In the past, there had been a huge war between the various dimensions, one that was so destructive it threatened to collapse the very fabric of reality. All the most powerful races and dimensions got together and decided they needed a better way to distribute the rare resources that existed between the dimensions, and so The Tower was born.

All the races of the various dimensions could send champions to The Tower who would compete for Essence. The more Essence the champion had, the more resources their race would get. The Essence they collected would also be taxed, with a small amount being siphoned off each day, going back to maintain the portal into The Tower as well as being used as a currency for trade between the various dimensions.

As Tormacc read more and more he felt the weight of responsibility settle on him. He wasn’t just fighting for himself, but for his whole race. That was his mission. It was a lot to take in, and he finally had to put the guidebook down, his mind in turmoil, thoughts racing, constantly going over what he had just learned. He had a vague idea before but hadn’t quite realized just how much responsibility he had on his shoulders. After a short while he pushed those thoughts aside; knowing the weight of his task changed nothing. He still had to get stronger.

“Can you explain a bit more about the portals and Shards?” he said, mind returning to the present. “And what does it mean we can’t stay in the First City? Where else would we go?”

“There’s more about it in a later chapter, but I can explain it to you now. The First City is a gathering point in The Tower. It’s a place where resources can be exchange and people can rest and recover. You can think of it as a giant safe zone and market. But you can’t stay here for a prolonged period of time unless you have a job. For everyone else there’s an increasingly high tax, and once you can’t pay that, you are forced to enter a portal.

“The portals are where the real competition is. It’s there that you can fight monsters for Essence and find rare resources and weapons. The portals lead to Shards, which you can think of as worlds unto themselves. There are thousands of Shards, and new ones are still being discovered, although that’s a rare occurrence. There are only three portals to different Shards open at once, and each week they change. Of course, you can always come back to the First City, but to do so you need to find the exit portal, and since entering a Shard always takes you to a different location, it can often take years to make your way to the exit portal, if you can even make it at all. Not all Shards are equally safe.”

“The guidebook said you can only stay in the First City eight days for free, right? So you only get a choice of six portals to enter?”

“It seems like you know how to figure out what’s important. You’re correct. Unless you find a job or pay the taxes to stay here for longer each person can only choose from one of six portals.”

“And how dangerous are those six portals?”

Stella spread her hands in a helpless gesture before answering. “They always change. There’s usually a good mix, but we’ve recorded runs where over a hundred high-level portals appear in a row. There’s a list of the danger levels for each known portal in the guidebook. They range from one to five, with three and four being the most common. You’re lucky if you can enter a level two, but you can’t count on one appearing, so as long as you can survive in a level three you’re generally going to be safe.”

Stella then gave her best business smile. “Of course, more detailed information on the various Shards is member-only, so I’m afraid I can’t divulge any more information on them. My apologies.”

Tormacc had been on the fence about joining Curtain, not really sure what they could offer him that would be worth it considering their prices. But he knew valuable information when he heard it, and a description of the Shards was worth his firstborn child.

“Can I see the contract again?”

“Of course, valued customer. Take your time.” He tried to ignore Stella’s beaming smile. She knew she had him.

Stella patiently waited as he read through the contract, making sure to take his time. With all the questions and clarifications he asked for it must have taken hours, but except for a brief moment when Stella left to meet with another client she waited patiently with him, happily giving him more information on the contract when he asked for it. After finally finishing up the contract he put it down, massaging his temples.

“Is everything to your liking?” Stella asked, smiling sweetly.

“I suppose,” he said. “At least there’s nothing I don’t like, and the information about the Shards is too valuable.” And with that he signed the contract.

“Wonderful!” Stella said, glancing over the contract before signing her name next to his. “It is a pleasure to have you join us, valued customer Tormacc. Would you like to obtain additional information now, and if so, will you be paying upfront or with credit?”

Reaching into his pack, Tormacc took out a chunk of the red crystal the moles ate and plonked it down on the desk

“That depends, is this worth anything?”

Stella pulled open another drawer on her desk before taking out a large sheet of glass and holding it over the crystal.

“I apologize, it seems I underestimated what you gained from the starting zone. This is a Blood Crystal, and a rather large chunk at that. While not a top tier resource, its scarcity makes it very valuable.”

“What is it used for?” Tormacc asked.

“It can be used in quite a few recipes and as a catalyst for various rituals, but the most famous and best use for it is in the Blood Empowerment Ritual. The ritual is especially useful for those who don’t yet have a lot of Essence, as it gives a base enhancement to your body. While this chunk isn’t enough to get a top tier ritual done, you could still use it to fuel a medium enhancement. I would suggest keeping it and paying with credit.”

Without speaking, Tormacc opened up the top of his pack so Stella could look inside. He could see her eyes widen almost imperceptibly as she looked at the pack full of Blood Crystals.

“Congratulations, valued customer Tormacc. You’re rich.”